The fair arrived in the middle of the summer each year. The event set up on a big empty lot right in the center of the city, between the Coliseum and the interstate. Unmarked trucks would roll in and raise their bay doors, allowing an array of brightly colored booths and structures to spill out. The various bits of metal and wood would rise up like inflating skeletons, creating lanes and streets surrounding bizarre polyps of lights and sound. The smell of cotton candy and fried dough would swirl into the hazy summer air to create a sugary miasma that welcomed attendees as if they were cartoon characters floating along in mid air.
Dennis loved the fair. He loved the gaudiness of it all — the rides and the food and the people. The people are what really amazed him. The ride hawkers filled the air with sing-song voices, their bright and deceitful eyes calling out to people to test their strength or win a prize or ride to the top of the world. Behind them lurked the unseen Carnies. Hulking men and women of ill repute worked just out of sight, constantly supplying the continual flow of food and drink to all the carnival goers. Finally, the attendees themselves lumbered into view. A rush of humanity as the gates opened, and people of all sorts flooded into the makeshift town.
The summer heat led to odd choices in clothing. Young people tended to want to look their best, even at a seedy carnival. They chose smart looking, stylized versions of themselves to parade around for each other, each expecting the others to notice. The men dressed normally, as they always do, in shorts with polos or t-shirts, but the women could be yet another treat for the senses. Pony tails showed off delicate necklines. Tank tops revealed smooth middrifts. Short shorts bordering on inappropriate tantalized the eyes with the curve of young, ass. Dennis doubted any of the women dressed in such a manner would be able to carry on more than five minutes of conversation, but that didn't keep him from enjoying peeks at their tits or, if there was a lucky enough breeze and skirt, to see a bare ass in a pink thong.
His girlfriend, Susan, on the other hand decided to wear an old concert T-shirt and some loose fitting jeans. They had been dating on and off for a long while, but finally decided to consider each other seriously about two months before. They moved in together and started looking at life as a couple rather than two singles who happened to be doing similar things. Dennis naturally expected her attitude to change somewhat, but he didn't anticipate the dramatic shift in her character. She rarely dressed up any more, and their sex life dwindled rapidly. Prior to their cohabitation, he'd been staying at her apartment most nights, fucking like rabbits until the late hours. The next morning, they would often pick up where they left off. She would come to bed wearing nothing but a pink nighty, grab his hand and move it to her ass as her other hand took a firm grip of his hardening cock.
Since the move, she would either be in bed by the time he came to the bedroom, or she'd quickly dart into the closet to change into some dull, granny panties. She'd hop into bed with a quick peck on the cheek and be asleep before Dennis could plug his phone in. She still made the effort some nights, and Dennis supposed that this is what a day to day life was like. He told himself he didn't mind. Still, something under his skin, just behind a thought, nagged at him.
"How much longer do we have to stay?" whined Susan. "It's hot and sticky, and these people are just gross."
Dennis tried to remain upbeat, "Come on, we haven't even been on a ride yet. Look. You wanted cotton candy a few days ago. They have entire shops of cotton candy. I think you can buy a barrel's worth. Literally, like a big plastic barrel."
"I'm not going on those rides," she said flatly. "Look at the Ferris wheel. It's held together by duct tape and gum."
"Oh, come on, Sue it'll be fun!"
Susan pursed her lips and scowled, "What have we talked about? My name is Susan, not Sue. I don't like nicknames."
Dennis could only shrug as they continued to stroll through the brightly lit paths. "Ok, fine. We can go."
She smiled, smugly, "Best news I've heard all night. I think if we turn the corner here it'll sort of head us towards the entrance without having to push back through the wads of people." Susan grabbed his hand and pulled him off the path, behind a tent. The bones of the carnival appeared before them. Unsightly trailers and bins of trash beside crates of stuffed animals and whirring machines creating food for the masses. Still, it formed a path, likely for service vehicles. A prickling feeling crept over them as they walked. The air grew a bit cooler, and the sound of the crowds quieted as if they had stepped behind an unseen barrier. Orange, glowing lights spilled into the sky from the lanes on the other side of the wall of booths, but an unsettling shadow cloaked their new path. They passed the multicolored booths quickly, both suddenly possessed by the feeling that they were not supposed to be in the back lane.
As they walked, Dennis considered the clever layout of the carnival's construction. Each booth had a small door, obviously as an entry and exit for the workers. Other than the door, the backs of the booths were solid wood and metal, placed close enough to one another that this wall went uninterrupted except for slight cracks, no bigger than an inch. The sudden gap in this austere wall surprised him. It looked as if one of the booths had simply been cut out of the wall, leaving a blank lot with a wood backdrop. A billowing tent occupied the vacant space. It stretched up higher than the booths on either side, yet Dennis had not noticed it when walking the lanes earlier. The tent itself had stars and moons embroidered on the cloth. They shimmered slightly as the lights of the Ferris wheel moved through the night sky. The folds of fabric slightly parted beneath a shoddy sign that read, "Games of Fortune - Change your Fate!"
"Ohhhh, this looks awesome!" Dennis said in a low whisper. "Susan, come on, we have to do at least one carnival thing."
"Dennis, look at that place. It's clearly a scam of some kind. And I don't like being back here. Why is the opening on this side?"
"Of course it's a scam! Everything here is a scam," he said, exasperated. "Maybe they just set it up backwards and haven't turned it around yet for some reason. Or maybe the other side is all mystical and they like sending people around here for added mystique. Come on."
She firmly planted her feet and crossed her arms. "No, I'm not going to some silly fortune teller."
"Fine, then you can wait out here," Dennis growled and disappeared inside of the tent.
Susan boiled with anger. How dare he leave her out here to wait. The odd prickling feeling crept over her again, and she looked up and down the alley. No one in sight. She wondered where the carnival workers had gone. She could barely hear the throng of people only a few feet away, but she heard the low whistle of the wind, slow and rhythmic, like the breath of some giant beast. She let out a huff of disgust and followed her boyfriend into the tent.
She collided into the back of Dennis immediately. He'd barely stepped two feet inside before stopping. "Whoa, watch it," he let out in a harsh whisper. They stood in front of a strange altar. On the top of the altar, a crystal ball waited, glimmering with shifting light. Inside they could see the moving shapes and figures of people. The images changed, sometimes growing close to the shadowy figures. A few faces revealed themselves completely. Others remained covered in a thick, grey veil. The image changes as though it were the view of a bird, flying from one person to the next and spending the interim looking down on all of humanity. Both Dennis and Susan marveled as to how it looked so real, but the grinning mask on the wall distracted them.
The pallid green thing made of mossy wood stared at them. The mouth stretched into a grotesque smile, and the eyes were covered by a white porcelain, painted to show blue irises. Neither would have been shocked to see the visage blink at them, for they both felt that it was looking at them as much as they were looking at it. The intent of the mask, though, was fairly clear. It drew their attention to an old top hat just behind the crystal ball. On the edge of the hat, someone had used a clothespin to attach a bit of cardboard which read "$3 to enter." Dennis rifled through his pockets and produced two dollar bills and four quarters. He dropped them into the hat, and they heard a loud click followed by whirring gears as the curtains around the altar shifted to reveal a room.
A small room lit by candles waited for them beyond the veil. Two wooden stools, a table, and a large wooden chair occupied the balance of the room. Beside the chair stood a man. A tall and imposing man. Dennis thought it might be a trick, one of the forced perspective rooms where they stood at the low end, making the man look taller by comparison. Nevertheless, the man seemed to be seven and a half feet from toe to tip. Long spindly hands clasped together in front of him, looking neat and tidy in accordance with the rest of his appearance. He wore a black suit that fit his thin frame with some flare. The only hint of color was a red ascot artfully trussed around his neck. Wispy grey hair topped his head and beetle black eyes watched his guests keenly as they entered. The man bowed low to them while not breaking eye contact, leading to an unsettling craning of the neck.
"I am Thaddeus, the Fortune Reader, the Fate Changer, The Gambler, The Rogue, and The Sorcerer. Welcome, please have a seat."
Susan rolled her eyes as she plopped down on one stool, but Dennis took his own seat wide-eyed and awestruck. Dennis scooted closer to the table as Thaddeus swept into his chair. The man moved with quick but graceful bursts of speed, as if he never wanted to be seen in motion, but only as a static version of himself.
"Allow me to save you the trouble of introductions," Thaddeus said in a low boom. He emphasized each word in a heavy, pointed voice was heavy. "You are called Dennis, and you are Susan."
Susan scoffed, "Did you hear us arguing outside? Very clever."
Thaddeus gave her a tight lipped smile, reminiscent of the mask in the foyer. "You may believe that if you wish. But you have come to my realm, perhaps it would be wise to believe in your eyes rather than in your own preconceived notions."
Susan smirked and shook her head. Dennis spoke, "So, what do we do? Are you a palm reader or like a psychic?"
Thaddeus did not look away from Susan, but his demeanor shifted slightly. Dennis's question apparently pleased him. "I do know these parlor tricks among many others. I can make cards vanish and reappear. I can read your thoughts and tell you your darkest secrets. I can pull rabbits out of hats, turn them into doves, and let the doves lay eggs that contain the untold names of your first loves." His eyes flared at Susan, shimmering black in the dim light, "But you are not here for parlor tricks. You have come to play a game. To change your fortunes."
He swept his hands across the table and as they moved away, two small sacks were left behind, one in front of Dennis and another in front of Susan. Dennis picked his up and opened the small drawstring. He upturned the bag and four pieces of white bone rattled onto the table. "These are the knuckle bones of young guitar player I met once. He wanted to be the best so he made a deal. He became a famous man whose name will always be remembered. In payment, I kept his bones."
